For some reason my phone decided to turn perfectly adequate pictures into blurry nightmares. Sorry, friends, but I can’t fix it for some reason.

I wanted to try the “Russian style” of tea. My mum was going to England, and I knew I could get this tea at Whittard. Whittard has not disappointed me with the quality of their teas, and since I knew that she was going there anyway to buy tea for her friend, I asked her to get this too. .

Type: Black

Instructions from packet: Use fresh water. Water left in the kettle loses vitality and makes tea taste dull. Rinse the pot with boiling water to bring out the tea’s flavour. Add 3-4 teaspoons of tea to a 6-cup pot. Pour in boiling water and leave to brew for 3-4 minutes. Pour through a strainer; add milk to taste. Whether you add milk before or after is open to debate.

Description from packet: A blend of China teas, the name comes from the 17th century when camel caravans transported China tea to Europe. During the journey, the teas took on the smoky taste of the campfires. We launched it just after the First World War and it still captures a spirit of adventure. An aromatic and full-bodied tea with a sweet, malty taste.

Ingredients: 100% black tea.

The look: The tea is a mixture of leaf cuts: some are fine and coiled whereas others are long and straight. The leaves are a rich brownish black colour.

The smell: The tea smells very strong with a soft maltiness to it too. There’s something fresh and sweet about how it smells, too.

First steeping: A very, very strong black tea with a mellow smoky flavour. This tea is bold! As you drink it, it mellows out a little bit, but that sweet (but not sickly), pleasant maltiness remains. This blend has apparently existed for almost a hundred years, and I can understand why. It is a very enjoyable cup of tea.

Second steeping: I suppose you can steep this twice, but the second steeping conjures up images of builder’s tea in my mind. It’s acceptable, but it doesn’t have any of the complexity of the first steeping.

My cousin Julie bought me this tea and sent it back from England with my mum. Whittard’s is apparently a famous tea house in London, though I assume they have branches in other parts of the UK too.

Type: Green

Instructions from packet: For the perfect cup of Zhejiang Gunpowder Green Tea, use one pyramid per cup and always use freshly drawn and boiled water. Allow to brew for 2-3 minutes or according to taste. Should be drunk without milk.

Description from packet: From the Chinese province of Zhejiang, this is a high quality gunpowder tea with tightly rolled pellets and a shiny green appearance. Mistaken for actual gunpowder by 16th century traders, this is a vibrant tea with distinctive sweet and smoky overtones.

Ingredients: 100% green tea

The look: Dark, blackish green-brown tightly coiled leaves in a nice pyramid-style tea bag. Essentially, it’s a convenient loose-leaf, which is good for people who don’t like having tea leaves floating around.

The smell: It smells a little sweet, though there’s no real smoky smell. A kind of complex smell, I suppose.

First steeping: A strong smoky flavour dominates, but doesn’t overpower. It mellows out on the tongue. It is a good quality Chinese green tea, or Chinese-style. The smokiness improves as you drink. The flavour is pretty straightforward

Second steeping: The second steeping is actually not too bad, though obviously a bit less flavourful. The flavours are essentially the same as the first steeping, so re-steeping at least once is a possibility.

Rating: 7.5/10. I don’t always like to have smoky tea, but this one is good for when I’d like to.